By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
On May 6, Real estate investor Nate Paul was at the top of the Travis County top ten list of delinquent taxpayers for the second year in a row, and also on the list was OTX Hotel LLC at 6550 Comanche Trail Suite B, which is in the Oasis, Texas area. By Friday, May 10 those tax bills were yet to be paid. (An earlier posting of this story incorrectly shared that many of these tax bills were settled but as of May 13, they are not, according to the Travis County Tax Office.)
Property owners on the Top 10 delinquent list owe a combined $5.6 million in 2023 taxes and have failed to pay after repeated attempts by the tax assessor-collector to collect.
Although adjacent to The Oasis on Lake Travis restaurant, OTX Hotel is not affiliated with the well-known restaurant and has a different ownership group.
“We’ve paid taxes for 43 years and we always pay before they are due,” said Beau Theriot, The Oasis restaurant owner. “I just want people to know that we pay our taxes.”
Embattled developer Nate Paul owes more than $3 million in taxes on three properties listed under Met Center Portfolio LLC, two under 2101 W Ben White LP, and three under 11530 Menchaca Road LLC.
The former 3M campus at River Place Boulevard and RM 2222 is the most valuable site, according to Austin Business Journal, that was wrestled away from Paul’s World Class Holdings two years ago.
“I’ve sent letters and made phone calls hoping to collect the payment in full or work out a payment plan for those struggling to pay, and the property owners on this list are avoiding me,” Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant said. “Why take the risk of losing your property because of unpaid taxes?”
These property owners received their tax bills in November 2023 and missed the January 31, 2024, deadline. Unpaid accounts are eventually forwarded to the county attorney’s office, resulting in a foreclosure lawsuit. Foreclosed properties are sold at a public auction on the first Tuesday of the month. Beginning in June 2024, auctions will be held online.
The county – and the 153 government entities it collects taxes for – pay for emergency services, public schools, courts, law enforcement, parks, road maintenance and other city and county operations. When projected property tax revenue falls short, programs can be cut, or property taxes raised to make up the difference.
The tax office has collected more than 98% of the 2023 property taxes owed but needs to collect more than $102 million in outstanding 2023 debt from property owners.
